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Publisher's Summary

Davinsky Labour Camp, Siberia, 1933: Sofia Morozova knows she has to escape. Only two things have sustained her through the bitter cold, aching hunger and hard labour: the prospect of one day walking free; and the stories told by her friend Anna, beguiling tales of a charmed upbringing in Petrograd - and of Anna’s fervent love for a passionate revolutionary, Vasily.

So, when Anna falls gravely ill, Sofia makes a promise to escape the camp and find Vasily: to chase the memory that has for so long spun hope in both their hearts. But Sofia knows that times have changed. Russia, gripped by the iron fist of Communism, is no longer the country of her friend’s childhood. Her perilous search takes her from industrial factories to remote villages, where she discovers a web of secrecy and lies, but also bonds of courage and loyalty - and an overwhelming love that threatens her promise to Anna.

I loved the time period the story was set in, post-Revolution and at the height of Stalin's paranoia-fuelled labour camps. The splitting of the story into the experiences of two separate women joined together by fate, circumstances and stories of the Russia they had lost was very satisfying.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Under a Blood Red Sky?

The discovery that the man Sophia had been searching for was not quite who she thought he was was well-handled, a plot twist that was well disguised.

Which character – as performed by Rachel Atkins – was your favourite?

Sophia

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but unfortunately real life kept getting in the way!

Any additional comments?

Kate Furnivall is a fantastic writer of Russian historical fiction, with detailed plots and well-rounded characters.Each one is a traesure trove of history.

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